Latch installable to various positioning holes of different specifications of computer rack without using tool

ABSTRACT

The invention discloses a latch installable to various positioning holes of different specifications of a computer rack without using a tool. The latch is latched into each positioning hole on both side panels of the computer rack. The latch has a base with a side fixed to a bottom track. The base has at least one horizontally extended hook, first sheath and second sheath engaged with each other, and a manual turning member. During assembling, the hook is latched into the positioning hole, and the manual turning member presses the protruding pillar all the way into the positioning hole to prevent the protruding pillar from being separated from the positioning hole by abutting the hook to the protruding pillar. During dismantling, the manual turning member is returned to its original position, and the first and second sheathes are moved accordingly to separate the protruding pillar from the positioning hole.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a latch installable to various positioning holes of different specifications of a computer rack without using a tool, and more particularly to a sliding track module installed to various positioning holes of different shapes of a computer rack without using a tool.

2. Description of the Related Art

As communication networks are developed rapidly, servers are used as a contact window or a data collection area for the communications of a company or a larger event in addition to personal computers, and servers are generally placed in a computer rack, and the computer rack has an opening at its front side for putting the servers into the computer rack, and side panels 100 on both sides of the opening respectively. Referring to FIG. 1, the side panels 100 have longitudinally arranged positioning holes 101, and the side panels 100 have a support rack 200, and the support rack 200 has a slide track module (not shown in the figure), and the slide track module has a computer housing (not shown in the figure) thereon. Further, each of the front and rear ends of the support rack 200 has an inwardly folded bent plate 201, and the bent plates 201 have pivotal connecting holes 202, each for passing a screw rod 203, and the screw rods 203 are passed through the pivotal connecting holes 202 and screwed to a fixing member 204 which is fixed into the positioning hole 101 in advance, so that the pivotal connecting hole 202, the screw rod 203 and the fixing member 204 affix the support rack 200 onto the side panel 100. However, it is necessary to use a tool to lock the screw rod 203 into the fixing member 204 of the support rack 200, and thus it is very troublesome and time-consuming to install or remove the latch.

Further, the positioning hole on the computer rack can be in an arc shape or its size can be different, and thus the fixing member 204 must be designed in correspondence with the shape and the size of the positioning hole 101, and such requirement makes the application relatively inconvenient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides a further improvement.

It is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a convenient way of installing a slide track module to a computer rack without using a tool.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a latch applicable for various positioning holes of different specifications, shapes and sizes of a computer rack.

To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention adopts a technical measure of installing latches in a computer rack, and both lateral sides of the computer rack have vertically arranged positioning holes, and the latch is latched into each positioning hole, and each latch has a base, and a lateral side of the base is fixed onto a bottom track of the slide track module, and the base has at least one horizontally extended hook, and the base is pivotally coupled to a manual turning member. The base further includes first and second sheathes engaged with each other, and the first sheath has an arc protruding pillar, and the second sheath has a rectangular protruding pillar.

During assembling, the hook is latched into the positioning hole of the computer rack, such that the manual turning member abuts the first or second sheath to insert the arc or rectangular protruding pillar all the way into the positioning hole and abuts the hook to the protruding pillar depending on the shape of the positioning hole to prevent the protruding pillar from being separated from the positioning hole. During dismantling, the manual turning member is turned back to its original position by a tool, such that the first and second sheathes are moved accordingly to separate the arc or rectangular protruding pillar from the positioning hole, so as to achieve the effect of installation and removal without using a tool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a latch installed onto a computer rack in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a latch of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a latch of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a latch of the present invention at another viewing angle;

FIG. 6 is a section view of a latch as depicted in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a latch coupled with a slide track module in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the operating movements of inserting a rectangular protruding pillar all the way into a positioning hole in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the operating movements of inserting a arc protruding pillar all the way into a positioning hole in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the operating movements of removing a protruding pillar from a positioning hole by a tool in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a latch installable to various positioning holes of different specifications of a computer rack without using a tool as shown in FIG. 2, and the latch is installed in a computer rack. In this preferred embodiment, the computer rack is a rack having an opening, and side panel 10 disposed separately on both lateral sides of the rack, and the side panels 10 have panels 11 extended towards the opening of the computer rack, and the panels 11 have a plurality of vertically arranged positioning hole 12, and the positioning holes 12 can be in a circular or rectangular shape (most positioning holes of the computer rack are in a circular shape or a rectangular shape, and the cross-sectional area of the rectangular shape is larger than the circular shape).

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 6, each positioning hole 12 is engaged to a latch 20, and the latch 20 has a base 21, and a lateral surface of the base 21 is affixed onto a bottom track 31 of the slide track module 30, and the bottom track 31 has a slide track 32 disposed movably thereon, and the movable slide track 32 is affixed onto the slide track module 30 and moved back and forth in the computer rack (as shown in FIG. 2).

Further, a lateral side of the base 21 that is away from the bottom track 31 has at least one horizontally extended hook 211, which are upper and lower hooks 211 in this embodiment. The base 21 has a blocking plate 212 disposed between the hooks 211, and the base 21 has a pivotal hole 213 disposed thereon. The pivotal hole 213 has a manual turning member 22 disposed thereon, and the manual turning member 22 has a pivotal hole 221, and the manual turning member 22 is pivotally coupled to the base 21 by passing a screw rod 223 through the pivotal hole 213, 221 and secured with the slide track module 30. The manual turning member 22 has an insert hole 222 disposed proximate to the pivotal hole 221 and with its back facing the base 21 for facilitating the insertion of a tool (such as a screwdriver) to control the manual turning member 22.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the base 21 has first and second sheathes 23, 24 engaged with each other and pivotally coupled to the manual turning member 22, wherein the first sheath 23 has outwardly extended and parallel arc protruding pillars 231, and the first sheath 23 has an embedding groove 233 for embedding the manual turning member 22 such that the manual turning member 22 can be turned in the embedding groove 233 and pressed onto the first sheath 23 for controlling the first sheath 23 to move parallelly. The first sheath 23 has an elastic stop member 232 disposed between the arc protruding pillars 231, and the second sheath 24 has an outwardly extended rectangular protruding pillar 241, and the rectangular protruding pillars 241 can be sheathed precisely onto the arc protruding pillars 231. The second sheath 24 has an elastic member 242 disposed between the rectangular protruding pillar 241, and the elastic member 242 precisely abuts the blocking plate 212, such that the second sheath 24 can slide on the first sheath 23 by the support of the elastic member 242 and the blocking plate 212.

Referring to FIG. 8, if the positioning hole 12 is a rectangular hole, the slide track module 30 and the latch 20 are combined with each other first, and then the hook 211 on the latch 20 is latched into the positioning hole 12 of the computer rack and pressed again the first sheath 23 by the manual turning member 22, and a stop member 232 in the first sheath 23 abuts the second sheath 24, such that the first and second sheaths 23, 24 are moved towards the positioning holes 12 to compress the elastic member 242 until the rectangular protruding pillar 241 on the second sheath 24 is inserted into the positioning hole 12, and the first sheath 23 enters into the positioning hole 12 through an arc protruding pillar 231 covered by the rectangular protruding pillar 241. The second sheath 24 is blocked by the stop member 232 and will not be withdrawn from the positioning hole 12, so that the hook 211 is pressed by the rectangular protruding pillar 241 and will not be separated from the positioning hole 12. On the other hand, during dismantling, the manual turning member 22 is returned to its original position or a tool is inserted into the insert hole 222, and the first sheath 23 resumes its original position by the resilience of the stop member 232 to separate the rectangular protruding pillar 241 from the positioning hole 12. In the meantime, the second sheath 24 synchronously resumes its original position by the resilience of the elastic member 242, so as to achieve the effect of removing the slide track module 30 from the computer rack without using a tool (as shown in FIG. 10).

Referring to FIG. 9, if the positioning hole 12 is a circular hole, the slide track module 30 and the latch 20 are combined with each other first, and then the hook 211 on the latch 20 is latched into the positioning hole 12 of the computer rack, and the manual turning member 22 abuts the first sheath 23, and the stop member 232 in the first sheath 23 abuts the second sheath 24, such that the first and second sheaths 23, 24 are moved towards the positioning hole 12 to compress the elastic member 242. When the elastic member 242 reaches the position of the positioning hole 12, the elastic member 242 is blocked outside the positioning hole 12 due to the different size and different shape of the rectangular protruding pillars 241 of the second sheath 24 and will not move forward together with the arc protruding pillar 231 of the first sheath 23. When the manual turning member 22 is turned towards the first sheath 23 continuously, the arc protruding pillar 231 of the first sheath 23 will enter into the positioning hole 12, and the hook 211 abuts the arc protruding pillar 231 and will not be separated from the positioning hole 12. Since the second sheath 24 cannot be moved forward synchronously with the first sheath 23, therefore the stop member 232 will produce a pulling and dragging tension. On the other hand, during dismantling, it is necessary to return the manual turning member 22 to the original position or insert a tool into the insert hole 222, and then the first sheath 23 resumes its original position by the resilience of the stop member 232. In the meantime, the second sheath 24 resumes its original position synchronously by the resilience of the elastic member 242, so as to achieve the effect of removing the slide track module 30 from the computer rack without using a tool (as shown in FIG. 10).

In summation of the description above, the present invention enhances the prior art and also complies with the patent application requirements. The description and its accompanied drawings are used for describing preferred embodiments of the present invention, and it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements and procedures. 

1. A latch installable to various positioning holes of different specifications of a computer rack without using a tool, and affixed to a bottom track of a slide track module, and the latch comprising: a base, with a lateral side fixed onto a bottom track, and having at least one horizontally extended hook disposed away from the base and fixed onto a lateral side of the bottom track; a manual turning member, pivotally coupled to the base; a first sheath, sheathed onto the manual turning member, and having an embedding groove disposed on the first sheath for accommodating the manual turning member, such that the first sheath changes its position by the manual turning member and moves parallelly, and the first sheath has an arc protruding pillar disposed in parallel with the hook; a second sheath, sheathed onto the first sheath, and having a rectangular protruding pillar embedded onto the arc protruding pillar; thereby, during assembling, the slide track module and the latch are assembled first, and then the hooks of the latch are latched into the positioning holes of the computer rack, and the manual turning member is pressed against the first sheath, so that the arc protruding pillar or the rectangular protruding pillar is inserted all the way into the positioning hole depending on the shape of the positioning hole, and the hooks are pressed by the protruding pillars and thus will not be separated from the positioning hole, and on the other hand, during dismantling, the manual turning member is returned to its original position, such that the first and second sheathes are moved accordingly, and the arc protruding pillar or the rectangular protruding pillar is separated from the positioning hole, so as to achieve the purpose of assembling or removing the latch without using a tool.
 2. The latch installable to various positioning holes of different specifications of a computer rack without using a tool as recited in claim 1, wherein the hooks come with a quantity of two.
 3. The latch installable to various positioning holes of different specifications of a computer rack without using a tool as recited in claim 1, wherein the arc protruding pillars or the rectangular protruding pillars come with a quantity of two.
 4. The latch installable to various positioning holes of different specifications of a computer rack without using a tool as recited in claim 1, further comprising a blocking plate disposed wherein the base and the hook.
 5. The latch installable to various positioning holes of different specifications of a computer rack without using a tool as recited in claim 4, wherein the second sheath has an elastic member disposed between the rectangular protruding pillars, and the elastic member precisely abuts a blocking plate of the base, such that the second sheath can slide on the first sheath with the support of the elastic member and the blocking plate.
 6. The latch installable to various positioning holes of different specifications of a computer rack without using a tool as recited in claim 1, wherein the manual turning member is pivotally coupled into the base by passing and installing a screw rod.
 7. The latch installable to various positioning holes of different specifications of a computer rack without using a tool as recited in claim 1, wherein the first sheath has an elastic stop member, and the stop member precisely presses on the second sheath to fix the second sheath into its position, and the resilience of the stop member resumes the first sheath to its original position when the manual turning member is returned to its original position.
 8. The latch installable to various positioning holes of different specifications of a computer rack without using a tool as recited in claim 1, further comprising an insert hole disposed on the manual turning member and at a position with its back facing the base for facilitating an insertion of a tool into the insert hole to control the manual turning member. 